Bismarck And The Creation Of The Second Reich

Chancellor Otto Bismarck's "greatness" lay in what he created, the German Reich of 1871. This Reich was the product of his genius, and in it his genius took complete shape. In less than a decade German chaos was brought to an end and in its place a homogeneous state began to arise. The structure of this state left no room for opposing political forces, but rather made ready a roof under which these forces might rally, support each other, and gain strength. Bismarck and the Creation of the Second Reich begins as a biography but continues as a description of his political life and the ideas that led to the birth of an authoritarian political culture.The community from which Bismarck formed his conception of the state was first the family and clan, then the landlord caste, and finally the people. These communities found their unifying force in the Kaiser, who as their patriarchal head enjoyed divine honors as ruler by the grace of God. The existence of the state was justified as the framework within which these communities existed, and it had thus a biological as well as a religious content. This idea of the state as the supreme moral command of religion was too powerful a driving force to be dropped in favor of the rational view of the state as a potential war machine. Bismarck reconciled the two concepts by use of the concept of a "people in arms," an idea which had originated in German history as a means of defense, but which was changed into one of aggression. In order to become a means of aggression it was changed into a moral precept commanded by religion, and indeed into the supreme precept.Through the unfolding of the political life of Bismarck, we find the roots of the Nazi Third Reich--the inability of the people to educate themselves about politics enough to effect any change or satisfy their own political needs. In this loss of control, the authoritarian regime grew stronger. Though Bismarck's work led to the creation and implementation of the Second Reich, "it is in the Third Reich that we find the devilish distortion that was its fruit." This volume is an essential tool for understanding twentieth-century German history.

In this vivid fifty-year history of Germany from 1871-1918—which inspired events that forever changed the European continent—here is the story of the Second Reich from its violent beginnings and rise to power to its calamitous defeat in the First World War. Before 1871, Germany was not yet nation but simply an idea. Its founder, Otto von Bismarck, had a formidable task at hand. How would he bring thirty-nine individual states under the yoke of a single Kaiser? How would he convince proud Prussians, Bavarians, and Rhinelanders to become Germans? Once united, could the young European nation wield enough power to rival the empires of Britain and France—all without destroying itself in the process? In this unique study of five decades that changed the course of modern history, Katja Hoyer tells the story of the German Empire from its violent beginnings to its calamitous defeat in the First World War. This often startling narrative is a dramatic tale of national self-discovery, social upheaval, and realpolitik that ended, as it started, in blood and iron.

This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1967.

Updated and expanded, this second edition of Bismarck and the German Empire, 1871–1918 is an accessible introduction to this important period in German history. Providing both a narrative of events at the time and an analysis of social and cultural developments across the period, Lynn Abrams examines the political, economic and social structures of the Empire. Including the latest research, the book also covers: how Bismarck consolidated his regime the Wilhelmian period the factors that led to the outbreak of World War One. With a new introduction and updated further reading section – including a guide to useful websites – this book gives students the ideal introduction to this key period of German history.

Despite recent studies of imperial Germany that emphasize the empire’s modern and reformist qualities, the question remains: to what extent could democracy have flourished in Germany’s stony soil? In Germany’s Second Reich, James Retallack continues his career-long inquiry into the era of Bismarck and Kaiser Wilhelm II with a wide-ranging reassessment of the period and its connections with past traditions and future possibilities. In this volume, Retallack reveals the complex and contradictory nature of the Second Reich, presenting Imperial Germany as it was seen by outsiders and insiders as well as by historians, political scientists, and sociologists ever since.

"The Period of Consolidation, 1871-1880, Volume II" opens at a time when Bismarck had become the dominant figure in German and European politics and the new German Reich the most formidable power on the continent. Questions arose. What new goals would the man of blood and iron" now pursue? What new conquests might be necessary to satiate a people steeped in the history and legends of medieval empire? Pflanze offers a comprehensive treatment of the years of consolidation, when, in reality, German unification introduced not a new era of conquest and bloodshed but a period of international order that lasted, despite many crises, for more than forty years. Originally published in 1990. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

"Authoritative, illuminating and easy to read. . . . Dr. Eyck, in his excellent book, has exposed the many fallacies of which Bismarck legend is compounded. His analysis is tragic and austere."--The Observer